Uzbekistan's banks handled foreign currency transactions worth almost $71.2 billion between January and July 2026, the Central Bank reported. That is the highest volume recorded for the first seven months of any year in the past three years.
According to the regulator, the supply of foreign currency on the money market grew faster than demand during the period - though supply still lagged behind demand in absolute terms.
Over the seven-month period, households and businesses purchased $38.2 billion in foreign currency from banks, up $5.7 billion, or 17.7 percent, from the same period in 2025. Legal entities accounted for $30 billion of that total, while individuals purchased the equivalent of $8.2 billion.
These figures represent the highest seven-month totals of the past three years. By comparison, in January-July 2024, businesses purchased $21 billion and households $5.4 billion; in the same period of 2025, businesses bought $26 billion and citizens bought $6.5 billion.
At the same time, households and businesses sold banks $33 billion worth of foreign currency in the first seven months of 2026 - a $7.2 billion, or 28 percent, increase over the same period last year. Individuals sold $14.6 billion, while enterprises sold $18.4 billion.
For comparison, in the first seven months of 2024, businesses sold $12.5 billion and citizens sold $8.65 billion; in the equivalent 2025 period, entrepreneurs sold $14.7 billion and the population sold $11.1 billion.
The exchange rate fluctuated within a range of 11,910 to 12,320 soms per U.S. dollar over the seven-month period.
"By the end of the reporting period, the national currency had strengthened by nearly 0.4 percent against the U.S. dollar," the Central Bank said in its analysis.
Exchange-rate volatility averaged 32 soms, or 0.27 percent, during January-July, compared with 28.2 soms, or 0.22 percent, in the same period of 2025.
Remittances from migrant workers abroad remain one of the key channels influencing the supply of foreign currency in Uzbekistan. The Central Bank said remittance inflows reached $9.3 billion in the first half of 2026, an increase of $1.1 billion, or 13 percent, compared with the same period last year.
Stay up to date with all the latest news:
